Villeneuve: Raikkonen is over-rated

Former Formula One world champion Jacques Villeneuve has derided Kimi Raikkonen as "over-rated".

Villeneuve feels the Finn, who will race for Ferrari this season following the retirement of Michael Schumacher, lacks the ability to take the German's place.

Villeneuve, who this year is to drive for Peugeot in the Le Mans 24-hour, said: "Kimi's over-rated as a driver package, because apart from jumping in a car and going fast, he really doesn't care about the rest."

He added: "A complete driver will spend time with the engineers, setting up the car and pushing the team.

"In a way it's good for F1 to have a driver like that - you can't just have robots. But you never know how dedicated he is.

"He'll look good, then have the odd race where he's somewhere else. You can imagine him saying, 'Okay, I'm done with F1, bye' for no reason."

Speaking in F1 Racing, Villeneuve added: "If there are no fireworks with him (Raikkonen) and Ferrari then it'll be fine, but only if Felipe (Massa) manages to drive the team.

"Then Kimi can do a few quick races. But he cannot drive the team. Massa will probably take over as team leader.

"He did a really strong job last year, made a few mistakes, but didn't look too shabby next to Michael. He's intelligent, talented, quick. With the right equipment, he can be a title contender. Then we'll see if he's really a great, or just a good driver. But he could be great."